Over 70 aircraft to fly over Red Square on Victory Day

This year, the airborne part of the parade will be opened by Mil Mi-26 and Mi-8 helicopters

LIPETSK, April 13. /TASS/. A total of 17 helicopters and 55 combat planes, including Tupolev Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers, will fly over Red Square in Moscow on Victory Day, Russia’s Defense Ministry press office said on Thursday.

"Seventy-two aircraft based at nine aerodromes in five Russian regions will be involved. They comprise 55 planes and 17 helicopters, including 20 types of military transport, long-range, tactical and army aviation," the ministry said in a statement.

This year, the airborne part of the parade will be opened by Mil Mi-26 and Mi-8 helicopters at an altitude of 150 meters, after which aircraft crews will begin demonstration flights.

The crews of Il-78 and Tu-160 long-range aircraft will simulate aerial refueling, after which pilots of the Lipetsk Aviation Center will fly in a tactical wing formation while pilots of the Russian Knights aerobatic group will perform the Cuban Diamond stunt aboard Sukhoi Su-30SM fighters. The parade will end with the flyover of six Su-25 planes emitting the smoke in the colors of the Russian flag.